Rudolf, on the other hand, was remanded in "Schutzhaft", or protective custody, the first measure leading to his deportation to a Konzentrationslager. Rudolf served his sentence, but authorities transferred him to Buchenwald concentration camp on August 8, 1942. He remained there until its liberation on April 11, 1945. While in the camps, gay men were often treated badly – many people died from exhaustion due to heavy labor; others were castrated; and some subjected to other gruesome medical experiments. Rudolf was prisoner number 7952 and like most of the “Rosa Winkel Häftlinge” (pink triangle prisoners)[4], started with forced labor at the stone quarry, prior to being posted to a lighter task in the quarry's infirmary. Several months later, he was assigned a less dangerous job in a construction detachment, as a roofer part of the "Bauhof" kommando, in charge of maintaining the numerous buildings that constituted the camp (dormitories, barracks, administrative buildings, armament factories, etc.
He only survived his imprisonment in the concentration camp thanks to this promotion in the “camp hierarchy” with the help of various Kapos.[5] Rudolf’s favored treatment was rare as most guards viewed gay inmates as the least favorable. For example, as the war was winding down, before a ‘death march’ to another camp, a kapo spared Brazda from the possibilty of dying along the way by hiding him in a shed from the other guards. Brazda stayed hidden there for a few days, next to the pig sty, until the camp was liberated by the Americans on April 11, 1945. Rather than staying in Germany or returning to Czechoslovakia, he settled in Mulhouse (Alsace, France). Toni regularly visited Rudolf in Alsace. But his attempts to reestablish his old love failed, because Rudolf had found a new boyfriend with whom he lived for the next fifty years the quiet life as a free man.
However, this was not the case for all gay survivors of Nazi persecution. After liberation the Allies did not immediately remove the Nazi-amended Paragraph 175. Neither they, nor the new German states, nor Austria would recognize homosexual prisoners as victims of the Nazis – a status essential to qualify for reparations. Like most other victims of persecution, reparation was also important to Rudolf. On April 6, 1988, he applied for compensation under the newly created hardship provision of the General War Consequences Act. The office did not process his application. After nine months, they informed him that “according to § 5 of the guidelines, the applicant must have German citizenship”. Although Rudolf was born and raised in Germany, he never received German citizenship and now had been a French citizen since the early 1960s.
Rudolf was not satisfied and appealed the decision. It was not so much about the money, he wanted to recognition as a victim and satisfaction for “what I went through.” He “only wants the compensation that all those who are eligible have received.” In its reply, the Freiburg Regional Tax Office showed understanding for Brazda's “difficult fate,” but could only explain to him the completely hopeless legal situation. Rudolf did not respond to this, which the office interpreted as a withdrawal of his application.
When Rudolf heard about the upcoming construction of the Berlin “Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted under National Socialism” in 2008, he contacted the Berlin Lesbian and Gay Association, traveled to Berlin for Christopher Street Day in June 2008 and visited the memorial together with Berlin's Governing Mayor at time, openly-gay Klaus Wowereit. That was a certain “satisfaction” for him. Brazda devoted the rest of his life to telling his story and encouraging future generations to remain vigilant against hatred and prejudice. In 2010, he attended the unveiling of a memorial plaque in honour of Pierre Seel, who had also experienced persecution by the Nazis for being gay. For speaking out about his experience, Brazda was awarded the gold medals of the cities of Toulouse, Nancy and Puteaux, and was appointed Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour in France in 2011.
Together with the historian Alexander Zinn, Rudolf compiled his biography, published in April 2011. Rudolf died on August 3, 2011, at the age of ninety-eight in a nursing home in Bantzenheim (Alsace, France). He was the last known concentration camp survivor deported specifically for same-gender attraction.
[1] the German law that criminalized homosexuality
[2] American-born French singer and dancer known for her risqué performances,
[3] Derogatory term for gay men
[4] In the concentration camps gay men had to wear a pink triangle on their uniform as identification.
[5] Prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the SS guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks.
orn on June 26, 1913, in the village of Brossen, near the town of Meuselwitz, about thirty miles southwest of Leipzig. After finishing school, he aspired to become a window dresser but instead secured an apprenticeship as a roofer. He was also an active member of a communist youth organization.
olve himself by pointing out that “in Czech times” such offenses were “not prosecuted so severely.” However, this argument did not convince the court, and they convicted Toni, Rudolf and two other defendants under § 175.